calamus

Meaning

1. (uncountable, usually) The sweet flag, Acorus calamus.
2. (uncountable, usually) A quill; the hard, horny, hollow, and more or less transparent part of the stem or scape of a feather.
3. (uncountable, usually) A fish of genus Calamus in family Sparidae; certain porgies.
4. (uncountable, usually) A palm in genus Calamus, of rattan palms.
5. (uncountable, usually) A fistular stem without an articulation.
6. (historical, uncountable, usually) Synonym of fistula (“tube for sucking Eucharist wine”).

Synonyms

sweet flag

quill

flagroot

myrtle flag

shaft

sweet calamus

Acorus calamus

sweet-flag

fishbone

acorus aclamus

flag

iris

rattan

ray

rattan palm

Anemone altaica fischer

rhizoma calami

Translations

kalmoes

calamo

cálamo aromático

jonc odorant

Kalmus

cálamo

ácoro

càlam

acoro

acore

calame

acore odorant

lis des marais

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin calamus (“reed, cane”), from Ancient Greek κάλαμος (kálamos). Doublet of culm, haulm, helm (Etymology 4), qalam, and shawm.